A microfiche appendix, consisting of 17 frames on 1 sheet is attached hereto and incorporated herein in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to periodic information management in medium to large organizations of people, and, more particularly to a web-based interactive system for efficiently and effectively managing communications between organization members.
2. Description of the Related Art
When different organizations within a company are involved in a common project, these organizations typically need to communicate with one another. Communication between managers may be effective for some projects, while other projects may require interaction between lower-level employees. As companies and projects grow in size, the number and size of organizations involved may increase as well. In today""s global market, the ability of a company to compete may hinge upon quickly adapting to different project requirements, organizational changes, and other unforeseen changes to the company. Thus, a system for managing communication between organizations of a company is desirable.
A system according to the invention includes a web-based status and issue tracking system for use by multiple departments of an organization or project. The system is made up of a variety of functions based upon parameterized definitions. For simplicity, the system is known as SIS, for status and issue tracking system.
As a status and issue tracking system, SIS provides status to all members of the organization. In one embodiment, SIS uses a web page for its interface. The web page is on a web site on a network server, such as the Internet or on a workstation that is available to members of the organization or project. Such an environment is ideally suited for providing status information because of the volume of information being collected and displayed, the interactive nature of web pages, and the ease of use and understanding of web pages.
As part of the SIS definition, the organization or project is divided into departments or disciplines. Preferably, a manager for each discipline is assigned. This manager may also act as a contact liaison for issues assigned to a particular discipline.
SIS acts as a report collector and generator. The system provides a mechanism for periodic report submissions from the manager of each discipline. The format for these reports is flexible and may include embedded HTML code, as desired. SIS combines these report submissions as a summary report at a predetermined time. The summary report is either sent to the manager of each discipline, or, alternatively, posted on a designated web site. Preferably, an email modification of such posing is sent to each manager. In addition to viewing the summary report, archival summary reports may be retrieved from the web site. An easy-to-use interface is provided for all retrievals from the web site.
SIS also acts as a receipt mechanism. SIS allows agenda items for interdepartmental meetings to be submitted to the web site. Again, by providing a user-friendly interface on the web site, all or selected members of the organization can submit proposals to be considered for future interdepartmental meetings.
SIS further provides a comprehensive issue submission and tracking system. Issues may be submitted to the web site, again through a friendly interface. Each issue is preferably submitted according to the department or discipline that originates the issue. Upon submission, email notification of relevant parties is possible. Ownership of issues may be assigned, either to a person or a discipline, as needed. Issue priority may also be designated.
For viewing current and closed issues, SIS provides an interface that allows retrieval either by issue number or issue description. Alternatively, all issues assigned to a particular person or discipline may be retrieved. Thus, issue tracking by discipline is possible.
The SIS system is flexible. Each function of the web-based user interface is based upon a parameterized definition contained in a project definition file. Enhancements can readily be made to accommodate the special requirements of an organization, or for different projects within the organization. This allows SIS to be easily reconfigured on a project-by-project basis.